A wonderful fantasy

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2002)

Perhaps a critic shouldn't be too critical of a modern fantasy, for thats what this movie is. The story is unique. The photography is compelling. The acting is top notch. The mood and decor are just about perfect. It's one of those films to be remembered. Nevertheless... >It would be impossible to fix a broken phonograph record as was done in the movie. >It is unlikely that a black, even one of Jelly Roll Morton's stature, would have been allowed to book first class passage on a steamer in the twenties. >The yo-yo as we know it was not invented until the thirties. Yet there is a reference to it in a scene set in the twenties. >The Royal Navy trucks supposedly in use in WWI were of WWII vintage. >The vintage of some of the movie cameras filming the piano "duel" is questionable. But despite these flaws, it's still an intriguing and memorable film.